ISH Trade Fair

Every two years the biggest European bathroom brands launch their new products at a giant exhibition called ISH in Frankfurt, Germany. It’s billed as the biggest bathroom exhibition in the world and we certainly gave our Fitbits a workout as we criss-crossed through four enormous halls!

We have been regular visitors to this show over the past 20 years as it’s a great opportunity to see what trends the manufacturers believe will be enticing customers over the next few years.

This year the stand out trend for us was the enormous amount of coloured brassware and accessories becoming available. We have already been displaying product lines in these beautiful matt and polished finishes for the past two years, but its really going to become much more mainstream now, particularly in cloakrooms and master bathrooms where people want something different. We can now offer taps, shower and accessories from Keuco, Axor, Lefroy Brooks, Samuel Heath and Villeroy & Boch in over 20 different metal hues.

Another trend picking up momentum are basins with much thinner profiles. Previously, the ceramic used for sanitaryware was too fragile to be used for thin walled designs, but technological advances such as Duravits DuraCeram now mean vessel basins look as delicate as fruit bowls. Even standard basins are coming through with thinner 8mm rims to them which give a much softer aesthetic to their design.

A new feature being introduced by some of our core suppliers were vanity units and basin consoles with metal frameworks to them. Shown in both colours and chrome, these practical designs add a soft industrial feel to the bathroom. We have displays on order from both Keuco and Duravit featuring this new trend.

Four members of our team spent two days at ISH and we are now excitedly working on new display settings for the showroom to be completed throughout the rest of this year. More news will follow!